Guide to the BCA for Genealogists

Resources at the Baltimore City Archives:

Records Relating to a Person:

The best way to find an individual that is mentioned in the historical records of the Baltimore City Archives is by utilizing the WPA Historical Records Survey Name Index. In the 1930’s, the Works Progress Administration, in the process of their Historical Records Survey Project, indexed every name mentioned in specific record groups of the Baltimore City Archives. The cards produced from that index are available online in alphabetically segments. For guidance on how to use the Name Index, please view BCA volunteer and genealogist Malissa Ruffner’s excellent step-by-step blog post. For an understanding of which records were indexed and included in the Name Index, see our page on WPA-HRS Indexing.

To find out where an individual lived during a specific year, or the information about their business, search Baltimore City Directories.

Suspicious deaths in the mid-19th century required a coroner’s inquest, some of which made their way to the Baltimore City Archives (deaths in 1827, 1835-1860,1864, 1867). See our index arranged by surname: Suspicious Deaths in Mid-19th Century Baltimore. Coroner’s inquests are located in BRG19-1.

To find the locations and records of churches before 1900, visit our Church Records page.

Immigrantswho arrived at the port of Baltimore between 1833-1866 were most likely placed on Passenger Lists by the vessel captains who were required to do so by law. The Passenger List index has been digitized and is available online.

Additions and improvements to properties from 1924-1961 required building permits. If you are looking for work done on a specific property, check the Building Permits Index Cards, which are arranged by block. If you do not know your block, use the state’s SDAT page to determine it by searching for the property- the block number is in the account identifier at the top of your property’s information page.

How to Schedule an Appointment:

If you find records in our collections that you wish to view, visit our Planning Your Visit page to view our hours, schedule an appointment, and read over our Searchroom policies.

Make sure that when you fill out the Research Appointment form you give a detailed description of what records you want to view by giving the Record Group, Series, HRS number, and the year if the item was from one of the WPA-HRS indexes, or as much detail as you can give from the Record Group, Series, Sub-series, and Box number if the item is not from the WPA-HRS indexes.